Lee Sharpe has criticised Trent Alexander-Arnold by claiming that he expects his Liverpool teammates to ‘mop up his mess’, as he told Stadium Astro.
The Old Trafford legend added that Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose defending has been under the spotlight of late, ‘doesn’t bust a gut to get back’ when defending for Liverpool.
During the International break, Alexander-Arnold was selected by Gareth Southgate, but he remained on the bench during the defeat to Italy and was left out of the squad altogether that faced Germany.
It was a clear sign from Southgate as to where he placed the Anfield star in his right-back pecking order.
That probably would have given the player an edge to prove critics wrong upon his return to domestic action, but instead, he made more defensive mistakes as Jurgen Klopp watched his side draw 3-3 with Brighton.
It’s not just the attacking full-back’s quality in defence that is being questioned, but also his lack of will to get back when his team are without the ball, as Sharpe critiqued.
“Whenever the ball goes past Trent Alexander-Arnold, he doesn’t bust a gut to get back into a defensive position,” said Sharpe.
“He sorts of jogs back and expects the rest of his team to mop up his mess. It’s something that does need addressing, for Jurgen Klopp and for Trent himself because he will get punished.
“Teams will single him out. They will go down that side and target him, play two against one and it will cause Liverpool more problems, so it needs addressing.”
LIVERPOOL FORM DOESN’T HELP TAA
The issue here is that Trent isn’t the only one out-of-form, but most of his teammates are also being questioned for their performances.
The most important player for the England World Cup hopeful is Virgil van Dijk, but he seems lost as well and also made errors during the draw against Brighton.
That makes matters worse for Alexander-Arnold because he is then asked to produce more when going back.
And given that he is struggling in the first place, then it just makes matters worse for TAA, who is now facing the biggest test of his career.
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